Frank A. Homan
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Frank Andrew Homan (born Francis Andreas Hohman) was a business owner, Fresno Unified School District board member, Fresno City commissioner, and mayor of Fresno from 1937 to 1941. Frank A. Homan was born May 29, 1875, to Catherine (Katherina) and Jacob (Jakob) Hohman in
Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
. Frank was one of six children for the Hohmans. By 1883, the Hohmans moved to Fresno from Mayfield, California (present-day Palo Alto, California).The Fresno Morning Republican. "Homan, Pioneer Merchant, Dead." 29 Nov 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/607205122/ The Americanization of "Hohman" to "Homan" began about the time of Jacob's naturalization in 1868. By the time the family arrived in Fresno, Homan was the surname used. Frank Homan grew up on the edge of the Germantown neighborhood of Fresno. Homan attended Fresno High School being involved in student government and baseball. Homan played baseball outside of class for ''The Fresno Expositor'' on a company sponsored team alongside future MLB player and manager Frank Chance.Frank A. Homan. FindAGrave.com. Accessed 27 Jul 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79407996 After graduation in 1893, Homan begin work as a reporter for ''
The Fresno Morning Republican The ''Fresno Morning Republican'' (also known as the ''Fresno Republican'', ''Fresno Weekly Republican'' or the ''Fresno Daily Republican'') was a newspaper serving Fresno, California from 1876 through 1932. It was founded by Dr. Chester Rowell ...
''. Homan would work until 1895 when he would join the United States Postal Service as the assistant postmaster until 1903. On January 4, 1900, Homan would marry Frank Chance's sister, Sarah, in which Chance would give away the bride during the off-season while a player for the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
. Homan would go into the private financial business selling oil stock and supplies.


Civic career


Fresno City Board of Education

Homan ran for office in 1909 to serve as Board President of the Fresno City Schools During that term, Homan, along with school superintendent C. L. McLane built an open air school to teach quarantined students that did not have the Smallpox vaccine. Homan served for a single term from 1909 to 1913. Although no longer on the school board, Homan would continue to advocate for better schools, bond measures and the construction of the new Fresno High School. While not engaging directly in civic business, Homan continued to build his business as he began to transform his business into a sporting goods and athletics supplies store called Homan & Company.


Merchant's Association

Homan was part of the original businesses that established the Merchants Association of Fresno where he would be elected president of the association from 1915 to 1918. Homan would also find himself called upon by virtue of his associations with politicians and merchants alike to continue in civic leadership. As World War I began, Homan was placed in charge of Fresno's Liberty bond campaign which further made Homan a staple in the city after raising $75,000 (equivalent to $1.6 million in 2020 dollars) in a single day. Homan continued in business ventures alongside his sporting goods store. Homan would serve until the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
as the Vice-President of Fresno County Chamber of Commerce. During the 1920s, Homan would serve on the board of directors for banks and mortgage businesses. Homan would begin to reenter the political world with an appointment by Mayor
A. E. Sunderland Alpheus "Al" Eugene Sunderland was a banker, businessman, movie star manager, Woodman, Rotarian, city trustee, and mayor of Fresno. Sunderland is the father of actress Ninette "Nan" Sunderland. Sunderland was born on October 5, 1866, to Edwin R ...
to study the matters of improving of travel and traffic through the city. The committee would recommend traffic police, crosswalks, uniform street widths, signal lights, parking meters, parallel parking, and speed limits throughout the city. The committee would also recommend the expansion of Fresno Chandler Executive Airport. During the Depression, Homan would be selected by Mayor
Z. S. Leymel Zygmunt S. Leymel was a teacher, veteran of the Spanish–American War and World War I where he served in the United States Army, California State legislator, and served two sets of non-consecutive terms as mayor of Fresno. Zygmunt Siegfried L ...
to be part of the committee of fifteen that would review, advise, and approve PWA projects as part of the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
under the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.


Mayor

In March 1937, Homan agreed to enter the race for mayor against
Z. S. Leymel Zygmunt S. Leymel was a teacher, veteran of the Spanish–American War and World War I where he served in the United States Army, California State legislator, and served two sets of non-consecutive terms as mayor of Fresno. Zygmunt Siegfried L ...
who was going for his third consecutive term. Leymel recently had lost a citywide vote on city takeover of public utilities and was seen as weak going into the election. He ran on a pro-business, pro-recovery, lower private-owned utility rate platform and won with 62% of the vote over the incumbent. During this term, Homan and the city commission worked with New Deal opportunities to build a new city hall (today known as the City Hall Annex) and work to begin the first of several projects to create flood control. Homan's term however was dominated by the discontinuing of the electric trams of the
Fresno Traction Company Fresno Traction Company operated electric trams in Fresno, California, from 1903 to 1939. Earlier horsecar tracks were improved and electrified under consolidated ownership which passed to Southern Pacific Transportation Company operation in 1910 ...
in favor of
bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...
. Homan and the city commission worked for nearly two years to create a
franchise agreement A franchise agreement is a legal, binding contract between a franchisor and franchisee. In the United States franchise agreements are enforced at the State level. Prior to a franchisee signing a contract, the US Federal Trade Commission regulates ...
that would result in less annual revenue to the city in trade for the scrap metal from the removal of the steel tracks. The agreement was completed and the Fresno Traction Company discontinued railway service and began bus service on March 1, 1939. On March 22, Fresno Traction Company's parent company the
Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
sold the line to National City Lines which rebranded the system Fresno City Lines, Inc. Homan and city commissioner Jean L. Vincenz were unaware of the sale until invited to the March 22 announcement by Southern Pacific Transportation Company. Less than one year later, Homan and the city commission were then informed that National City Lines had sold Fresno City Lines, Inc. to
Pacific City Lines Pacific City Lines was a company formed in 1937 as a subsidiary to National City Lines in Oakland, California. Its function was to purchase streetcar systems in the western United States as part of what became known as the Great American streetcar ...
. The bus service would continue to follow Homan's administration to the ballot box in April 1941 where he would run for re-election the same day that the city would vote to end the franchise agreement and begin the bus service as a municipal ran system. Both the municipal bus service vote and Homan would be defeated at the ballot box when former Mayor Z. S. Leymel would win and regain the mayoral office with 57% of the vote.


Post-Mayor

His post-mayoral civic career found Homan sitting as Chairman of the
Fresno State College California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
board of governors from 1941 to 1958 and earning an honorary Master's Degree in Public Service. Homan found himself continuing to be called upon in civic affairs as a city elder to work on a new city charter, the only living former mayor between 1950 and 1957, President of the Fresno County Historical Society, and Chairman of the corps advisory council for the Fresno
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. Homan would honored by the city and Fresno City School with the Frank A. Homan Elementary School named for him in 1952.The Fresno Bee. "Boundaries Are Set for Three New City Schools." 10 May 1952. https://www.newspapers.com/image/25842124/


References

{{Mayors of Fresno, California 1875 births 1958 deaths California Republicans Mayors of Fresno, California